Abberley is a parish in rural West Worcestershire situated within the Malvern Hills District Council boundaries. It is an approximate rectangle, 6 miles long and up to a mile wide. The ridge of Abberley Hill forms the long eastern boundary.
Abberley Hill is formed of an overturned thrust fold of Silurian rocks capped with a breccia of Permian age. On the west side of the hill, the sandstones, clays and coal seams of The Wyre Forest coalfield provided employment in extraction of coal from the Middle Ages until the late 1920s and clay for making bricks and tiles from at least the late fifteenth century until the middle of the twentieth century. At the east end of the parish, the underlying clays and sandstones are of Devonian age.
The settlement pattern of Abberley like many parishes in Worcester dates from at least Saxon times and is and remains a dispersed one with houses grouped around farmsteads or greens, Town Farm and Elms Green attest to this style of settlement. Recent local history projects have identified evidence of both pre-historic people and Romans living in the area as well as continuous occupation from the Medieval period to the present day. Farming remains the dominant land use, orchards are far less plentiful than they had been but hops are now being grown again.
Within the parish, a hunting lodge and its associated deer park were given to a favourite of the William the Conqueror after the Battle of Hastings but at times reverted to the Crown, the last hereditary owners, the Bromleys, sold the estate in 1836. Abberley Lodge was demolished and a new house named Abberley Hall was built by the Moilliets, a Birmingham banking family, the estate was later owned by John Joseph Jones, an Oldham industrialist and banker. After 1910, the Jones heirs chose not to live in Abberley and from 1912, the building has housed Abberley Hall preparatory school. Former pupils include a number of MPs including Geoffrey Howe, later Lord Abaravon and Philip Dunne the sitting MP for South Shropshire. Abberley’s other grand house, The Elms was owned by the Sir Richard and Lady Brooke from 1926 until 1946. Sir Richard established a successful racing stables; King Salmon, his most famous horse won the Eclipse Stakes at Sandown in 1934 and twice came second in the Derby. Training race horses continues elsewhere in the parish to this day. The Elms later became one of the first English country house hotels and is still operates as a hotel and spa today.
Abberley has had a village school since 1717, the school has occupied its current building since 1859. Abberley Post Office was run from rooms in private houses until moving into the Village Stores, Abberley’s remaining village shop, in the twenty first century. The Manor Arms, the remaining pub, was originally called the Bromley Arms. Abberley retains two Church of England churches, but did also have a Methodist Chapel. Owen’s Garage continues to provide a car repair business, but no longer sells fuel or operates the local bus service as it did in the twentieth century.
Cancellation of Parish Council Meetings Following advice from Worcestershire CALC, Abberley Parish Council meeting scheduled for Wednesday 18th March has been cancelled due to restrictions imposed by the Coronavirus. The Government advises that everyone implement what is termed social distancing with those who are over 70 and those who would normally get the flu jab […]
SOURCES OF ADVICE The coronavirus situation is fast-moving and there is an increasing amount of misinformation online. We should be using government advice to inform decisions and be checking that advice regularly. • Public Health England has FAQs that will be updated regularly • This guidance, developed with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial […]
UK Youth Fund CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD FLYER FOR UK Youth Fund Open for Applications Grants are available for third sector and statutory organisations in England to deliver extra sessions in youth clubs and settings for young people or to enhance and expand existing sessions. Background UK Youth, a national charity working with a network […]
Planning Application Consultation received on 30th January 2020 from Malvern Hills District Council Proposal – Proposed demolition of existing buildings on site and development of 11 new dwelling houses. Applicant – Eden Properties (Abberley) Ltd. Planning Officer Lee Walton – 01684 862314 Consultation responses by 27th March 2020. Click here to view Planning Application online […]
Abberley Parish Council has a defibrillator situated next to the front entrance of the Village Hall. It is crucial for our community that as many local residents of Abberley as possible are trained to use this equipment should the situation ever arise. The defibrillator training will take place on Saturday the 28th March 2020 at […]
ENVIROSORT – WHAT CAN I RECYCLE? Click here for link onto ENVIROSORT Website Click here to open advice flyer on recycling
Are you looking for funding for local projects and initiatives? Identifying and diversifying alternative funding streams has never been so important for local government. That is why Worcestershire County Council has again secured Open 4 Community, an on-line funding portal designed to meet the specific needs of Parish & Town Councils, voluntary & community groups, […]
As the Police and Crime Commissioner John Campion, begins to set the budget for the next financial year, he wants to hear questions from the public, to put the Chief Constable. How would you like to see your money spent? How would you like to see resources prioritised? What would you do differently? Budget and […]
Rural Crime Prevention Machinery Theft • Where possible, vehicles should be housed in a lockable garage or building, ideally with security lighting installed to the perimeter. • Vehicles should always be locked when not in use, with the keys kept hidden and locked away in a secure location. • Keep recordings or photographs of serial […]
